Boosted More Owl

Geddit? An 8km walk today was full of promise as birds scudded over the carrs. Skylarks, pigeons, Starlings, geese, crows by the hundred. Winter thrushes were pouring over and a couple of Buzzards  were no surprise heading towards Wansford. A couple of Siskin were amongst the Goldfinches in the shooting crop.

Down on Wansford Carrs 160 Greylags contained the single patch tick of the day. A very handsome and hungry Pink-footed Goose. This was a predicted species but I expected a skein overhead not a single bird amongst the ferals but I am quite happy with this. Alas the Lapwings were closer to Skerne than Wansford and thus they werent seen well but they did harbour a handful of Redshank. The rest of the carrs had an assortment of Common & Black-headed Gulls. 

I wandered along the main road towards North Frodingham to try and connect with a Little Grebe on the canal. Failed again. A Barn Owl  was hunting over the field opposite and it came in pretty close in cack light.

Watching the owl hunt I noticed a couple of Grey Herons also stalking small furry prey. A Kestrel tried to klepto the owl as well. Then I noticed a couple of lumps on posts. Short-eared Owls both and they slowly moved closer in the gloom. Sadly not good enough for photography really but great to watch. A Buzzard was also sat on a post further up. Not much hope for the small rodents in this field!

Short-eared Owls Baby!

I was traversing Nafferton Carrs this afternoon thinking what a waste of time it was - I could have just booted it down the road to Wansford Carrs which are the place to be at the moment, when I noticed 2 owls hunting over a shooting crop half a mile south of me. 2 Short-eared Owls. Booooom!!! The locale looks good for them but I hadn't thought that they were likely as I have never seen or heard of any here. The threat of extra raptors encourages me to keep crossing the carrs and boy am I glad I did. Here are pics of both owls, the first towering off south mobbed by crows after the other had chased it off and the second bird just about to land back in the crop.

Bird 1

Bird 2

Down on Wansford Carrs there wasnt a great deal to shout about, 130ish Lapwing, 14 Redshank but not much else. I wandered along the Wansford Canal for a bit picking up a female Siskin and a tight flock of 12 Tufted Duck flying along the river to the south. These were followed about a minute later by a single drake Shoveler which was flying east and provided me with my second unexpected Foot It tick of the afternoon. I am now up to 75/78 or 96%. 3 to go.

Just to prove I can work my camera

More Patch Gold

I bumped into Yorkslister at Barmston today whilst he was after the Kumlien's Gull. We both got frustrating views of this enigmatic individual. Opinion seems to have swayed more firmly into the Kumlien's camp but this isn't an exclusive school of thought. As we were trying to relocate the gull a Little Gull was noted in the surf. Sweet.

This was followed by a couple of geese. I noticed two 'things' feeding by a pool in a field and Garry scoped them, a Dark-bellied Brent and a juvenile European White-fronted Goose. More wildfowl was on the cards as 2 Red-breasted Mergansers flew south overhead.

We wandered back to the cars and picked the Iceland up near Ulrome. Garry headed off to try his luck there whilst I decided to check the hedgerows for patch year ticks. This proved a decent decision with Greenfinch, Coal Tit, Sparrowhawk and Fieldfare added to the patch year list. I saved the best for last with at least 5 Woodcock flushed in and around the pine plantation. Sweet!

Melting away

The great glacial period appears to be receding as the countryside around here returns to its usual brown and green hues. I still had hope for some weather driven birds and I trudged round the local area, focusing on Wansford Carrs after yesterdays grippers. No Shelduck, no Little Grebe and possible Pintail in with a small group of Wigeon flying away from the area as fast as it could. Any thoughts on my blurry photos?

Wigeon with ?male Pintail, upper left bird.

Down by the river whilst looking for grebes I noticed that the lone alder tree was alive with finches and amongst the Goldfinches were at least 10 Siskins. A foot it tick in a Goldcrest tagging along with some Long-tailed Tits. And I thought that turning into sub-arctic tundra had killed all the local ones. To add insult to injury another tit flock had 1-2 more of the spritely regulus.

Awful into the sun shot heavily photoshopped

Onto the carrs and over 100 Lapwing were about plus 10 Redshank but nothing new to the list. I spent ages trying to eke something else out but failed miserably so I headed up Nafferton Beck. All I really managed here was a Grey Heron and finally a Barn Owl. Halle-bloody-lujah! So onto 73 For Foot it (maybe 74 if anybody fancies backing up my Pintail flight of fancy).

The Night Walker

So on Saturday night I shared a couple of very large glasses of wine with my good lady and was nicely relaxed. My wife then decided to retire but I wasn't quite ready. So I went for a walk. In the snow. For 4 miles. With the snow on the ground and cloud cover it was actually quite bright and I could make out the mammals doing the rounds with ease. Ostensibly I was looking to add Barn Owl to my Foot It list but that didn't happen so I savoured what I could and enjoyed the walk.

I wandered south along the road to Wansford with Wansford Carrs my eventual destination. I managed to see my first Roe Deer locally with 4 stags hiding in a field. Hares were plentiful with 21 seen in total including 13 in 1 field, mostly feeding but also a bit of social interaction. The sap must be starting to rise for these guys. A distant Fox wandered along the road until disturbed by a car.

There were no bird noises at all until I reached the carrs and it was evident that there were plenty of Lapwing and Teal roosting around the pools (and seemingly much more but I couldn't decipher the shapes in the dark). I wandered beyond the small drain to get a different angle on the cars but all I picked up was another distant Fox traversing a field and bothering some roosting Lapwing without effect. As I mooched back across the drain a funny looking heron flushed directly away. It was sort of hunched and flew very mechanically. Initially I was trying to make it an owl but eventually the logical part of my brain kicked in and placed the mystery shape - a Bittern. I was half cut, it was 11pm and dark and I had just managed to score a local mega. The journey back was uneventful in the extreme with only the big gathering of Hares noted. And of course no owls.

Today I was stuck with the girls due to snow on the high ground round here blocking access to my mothers village. This curtailed any real birding activity as persistent sleet isnt ideal walking weather for a baby and an under 5. Fortunately they both conked out on they way back from Tesco this afternoon (nothing to do with heaters being on max surely?). I checked out the Mere but drew a blank with a single Tufted Duck all I came away with aside from the dross.

I was annoyed so I went by car to Wansford Carrs for a look whilst the kids caught flies. The first thing I saw was a flock of a dozen Redshank feeding on worms as the grass was slowly revealed under the snow. Everytime a bird came up with a worm, a Black-headed Gull would attempt to kleptoparasatise it. It was fascinating behaviour. A flock of 2 dozen Teal flushed from the back of the carrs and they were joined by 3 Pintail as they flew off. I soon noticed 2 Shelduck on the flood. Neither of these were on my predicted list for Foot It and naturally both would have been much wanted ticks. Lets hope they are there tomorrow. A Little Grebe then started whinnying in the background. One that I expect to connect with on foot but haven't to date. In all it would have taken me to 74/78. Gah!

Snowy Bonanza

I went for a Foot It wander today to try and make the most of the cold weather. Nearly 9k in freezing in -9C. Extreme local birding. After yesterdays twitch I hit up the mere first. I thought I had struck out with just an additional pair of Gadwall before I noticed this guy huddled amongst the Mallards.

A drake Teal which is my first local bird. Dead happy! Bizarrely Tufted Duck numbers were down to 4 from 7 yesterday. I smashed on and found a freshly ploughed field which held amongst a plethora of gulls, thrushes and Rook a couple of Skylark. I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to connect with these guys but I was confident I would with the weather.

A bounding bird across the carrs from me wasn't the expected Mistle Thrush but a female Great Spotted Woodpecker, my first of the year and naturally my first for foot it. I was now up to 67 species. As I approached Wansford a vixen was hunting small mammals across the beck from me. I only got record shots which was a shame. A trilling finch in a small tree flew high but not before revealing itself as a Lesser Redpoll. I wondered whether this was a feasible species but dismissed it due to the lack of habitat. A single weather driven bird soon proved me wrong.

I checked the canal and river for Little Grebe but failed miserably. Happily the carrs at Wansford helped me to fare better with some proper patch gold. There was still open water thanks to a farm drain that continued to run and because of this the cars were covered in birds. Hundreds of Black-headed and Common Gulls  were joined by 50-60 Lapwings and inobtrusively around the edges were about 35 Snipe feeding in small groups. No Jacks obvious despite searching.

Strutting amongst the Snipe were 5 Redshank. Another hoped for weather driven tick. I was delighted with my haul but was blown away by the next bird. A flock of Redwing were feeding in stubbles between a flood and the drain. A corking Green Sandpiper bobbing away amongst them. I had predicted this bird but was worrying it would elude me as I hadnt found any in my local drains and becks and as they can be quite site faithful in winter I feared that it my chance was gone.

This bird took me to 70 species seen on foot from home this year. Quite a decent milestone I think. Only 8 species to go to meet my original target. Stuff that is gettable include Barn Owl, Goldcrest, Little Egret, Pink-footed Goose, Pochard, Little Grebe, Goldeneye, Water Rail, Goosander, Waxwing, Jack Snipe & Great-crested Grebe. Hopefully the cold weather remains for the next couple of weeks and I may even beat my prediction. I have also managed to cover nearly 55 miles on foot since the turn of the year which has slimmed me down to my pre-christmas weight which was also a post diet weight so I am pretty pleased and in covering the distance have burned over 8,000 calories.

Although the sandpiper was the last avian highlight of my walk four further Foxes were on Wansford Carrs simultaneously. I don't think I have seen multiple Foxes in the day simultaneously before so for 4 to be on view at the same time is quite a site. This was the closest one.

Barm Storming

Another visit to snowy Barmston and more decent birds. Almost immediately I stumbled on the Iceland/Kumlien's Gull pictured below and a few waders were around the car park (still no Purple Sandpiper though). Plenty of Sanderling foraged on the beach - I stopped counting at 100 and there were loads more than that. As I tried to get better photos of this guy a few Redwing moved along the cliff top - new birds this year for the patch. One was feeding on the beach alongside a Blackbird.

I continued towards Fraisthorpe via the reedbed which today held only a single Snipe. The Water Rail was still present in the drain. Numbers were up of buntings with 7 Snow Buntings, 25 Yellowhammers and a dozen or more Reed Buntings in a stubble field. Large numbers of Skylark & Meadow Pipit were amongst the bunts. I tried to find a Lap but failed badly. New plovers were also in evidence with a single Lapwing and 3 Golden Plovers not far apart in fields and a flyover flock of 40 odd of the former. A single Grey Plover on the beach was also new for the yearlist.

 Up at Fraisthorpe a group of Pale-bellied Brent Geese foraged in a farmers field before being flushed by dog walkers onto the beach and later south towards Ulrome before returning. An added bonus here was a hunting Barn Owl which I imagined would be a tricky local addition.

At the turnaround another new patch species for the year was present - a smart Song Thrush. Yum. Feeding on the undercliff was my final new patch year tick. A scruffy looking Rock Pipit amongst the Meadow Pipits. Time was marching on as I clocked up plenty of miles so a quick march back brought little reward.

 When I got back to the village I called in at the Mere to ensure I wasnt missing any footit ticks. Lucky I did as a pair of Gadwall were present. Which necessitated a footit twitch of my own find... Also present was my first ever Wigeon for the mere, hiding in vegetation plus a big increase in Tufted Duck from 1 originally, 2 yesterday and finally 7 birds today. C'mon Goldeneye and Pochard!

Patch Challenge is up to 51 species/57 points, Footit is up to 64 species/82% and both Wigeon and Gadwall count for the Pan-species challenge taking me up to 65 species in my Nafferton 100 acres. All go in my challenges!